2 Bentley University students test positive for H1N1

Concern over swine flu at Bentley University appears to be increasing. The school said two students tested this week were confirmed to have the H1N1 virus.

Abby Jordan

Concern over swine flu at Bentley University appears to be increasing. The school said two students tested this week were confirmed to have the H1N1 virus.

Michele Walsh, director of public and media relations, said Bentley had its first confirmed case of H1N1 last week, and the school has also seen an increase in the number of students with flu-like illness.

Walsh said more students are going to the health center, and they are encouraged to do so, when they become sick. However, many students who think they have the virus actually have mono, bronchitis, colds or other common ailments.

Students at Framingham State College on Thursday said life is continuing as normal on campus, albeit with more frequent hand washing, following yesterday's announcement that two students have tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

Two students have contracted confirmed cases of the virus, and have left campus to recover, said Susanne Conley, vice president for enrollment and student development, in an e-mail to students, faculty and staff.

Seven students with flu-like illness have been seen at MetroWest Medical Center since Monday, the e-mail says, following a weekend announcement that a student was suspected of having the virus, but was not tested.

Colleges and universities in MetroWest are seeing increased numbers of students with influenza-like symptoms, which reflects the current statewide flu trend.

``We are seeing an uptick in the number of influenza cases across the entire state,'' said Jennifer Kritz, spokesman for the state Department of Public Health.

Students at Framingham State said they are protecting themselves against getting the flu by drinking more water, taking vitamin C, not sharing cups or utensils and washing their hands or using hand sanitizer more frequently.

``Everyone is taking precautions,'' said Nicole Curley, a freshman.

Regardless, she said, students don't seem to be too worried about the two confirmed cases.

``Personally, I think it's being blown out of proportion,'' she said.

Alyssa Deangelo, a freshman, said more hand sanitizer pumps have appeared in public buildings on campus and professors are encouraging students not to come to class if sick.

Siobhan McLernon also said people were aware of the H1N1 cases, but aren't worried because there are only two confirmed cases so far.

``If the numbers start ratcheting up, it might make people more nervous,'' she said.

There are likely many more cases of H1N1 virus than have been confirmed, as the Department of Public Health says the majority of suspected cases are not tested.

Anyone with flu-like illness likely has H1N1, as Kritz said it is the only flu virus currently circulating. Seasonal flu season starts in late December or early January.

Some hospitals and health centers may conduct ``rapid flu testing'' on patients with flu-like illness, while others voluntarily participate in the U.S. Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network to help national and state health officials track flu trends, Kritz said.

Those fact-gathering, or sentinel, sites collect two samples from patients with flu-like illness during the beginning, middle and end of flu season, with up to two specimens a week sent for testing.

Bentley University is a sentinel site.

Other colleges that aren't testing for H1N1 have reported cases of flu-like illness. Those cases are likely H1N1, though unconfirmed.

At Boston College, 150 cases of flu-like illness have occurred in students since Sept. 1, all of them mild cases not requiring hospitalization, said Jack Dunn, director of public and media relations.

As of Thursday, the college had five students with flu-like illness, and Dunn said there are typically five to eight students afflicted at a time.

Wellesley College, where a student tested positive for the virus earlier in the semester, also has five to eight students who currently have flu-like illness, said Arlie Corday, director of communications and public relations.

At Brandeis University in Waltham, as of Oct. 16, 113 students had flu-like illness since the start of the fall semester, with five students currently under care, according to the health center Web site.

The week of Oct. 12 was the slowest in terms of new cases, however influenza cases are not expected to be subsiding, the site said, noting,``the flu is not a bullet that we have dodged, it is more like a boomerang that will return.''

Abby Jordan can be reached at 508-626-4449 or ajordan@cnc.com.

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